Brothers From Newtown Named As Winners In Sen. Murphy's MLK Essay Contest

Kenneth Miller of Newtown is all smiles after meeting U.S. Sen. Chris Murphy last summer at Edmond Town Hall in Newtown. Kenneth was named as a winner in the senator's MLK essay contest.Photo Credit: Karen TensaU.S. Sen. Chris Murphy goes to high-five Kenneth Miller after the 6-year-old asked a question at a meeting last August at Edmond Town Hall in Newtown.Photo Credit: Sen. Chris Murphy via Twitter

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NEWTOWN, Conn. — Two brothers from Newtown are among the winners in the second annual Martin Luther King Jr. Day Essay Challenge sponsored by U.S. Sen. Chris Murphy.

“Dr. King inspired us all to fight for justice and equality. For the second year in a row, I’m totally blown away by the essays and ideas of these students. It was hard to pick just a few winners,” said Murphy.

Kenneth Konrad Miller, 7, a student at Sandy Hook Elementary School, and his brother, Karl Daniel Miller, a student at Newtown High, wrote about their experiences as African-American students in largely white town.

In his essay, Karl wrote about racism that he has encountered from his classmates, but said, "My dream is that we are able to celebrate our diversity and accept each other as we are. My dream is that my little brother, who shares my black hair and brown skin, never experiences what I have. My gratitude is that I have so much more than I would if not for the dreams of Martin Luther King."

His younger brother, Kenneth, wrote in his essay about how he relates to King. "I am like Dr. King because I am different from most of my friends because my skin is brown, but, because of him, I go to Sandy Hook School, which is really awesome. I also spend everyday practicing being kind" like King.

Kenneth met Murphy last summer during a Town Hall meeting in his hometown and brought up the topic of kindness.

The 7-year-old waited patiently in line for nearly an hour for his turn to ask the senator a question.

“How can we make America kind again?” Kenneth asked. Murphy gave Kenneth a high-five and told a story about a similar question from his 8-year-old son, Owen, who asked, “Dad, what’s the point of all this?”

"And what I said to him was that when it all comes down to it, I think the point is to be kind. And to try and make things better for one another. And to help people," Murphy said.

Kenneth, who said with a big smile that he was "terrified" to ask this question, said that Murphy gave him "a pretty good answer." [
Click here
for the story of the meeting at Daily Voice.]

Murphy announced 15 winners in his essay contest — students from elementary, middle, and high schools across Connecticut.

About 700 students submitted essays to Murphy’s office reflecting on Dr. King’s dream and their own aspirations. The winning essays will be displayed in Murphy’s office.

“We reflect on Dr. King’s legacy, and I hope that students across Connecticut who wrote essays took it as an opportunity to do so. If they stay engaged and fight hard for what they believe in, they can accomplish anything they set their minds to,” Murphy said.